The Bailey
by Kaoru-chibimaster
Summary: Upon which Leon and Cloud talk about nothing. Cleon, In-Universe, Fluff.


The Bailey

Upon which Leon and Cloud talk about nothing.

A/N: So, for as much as I love this pairing, I've never actually written for it before. Hopefully, I don't screw it up. So anyway, it's In-Universe and takes place a few months before the start of KH2.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, this would totally be canon, thank you very much. Also, as I say in most of my stories, any likeness to another story is purely coincidental. This just popped into my head.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So, as a member of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, I propose that we—"

"We're not knocking the castle down."

Yuffie's pout at Cid was more so over the fact that she was interrupted rather than the fact that her idea was shot down. No, she expected that. Not that she wasn't going to push the idea anyway.

"C'moooon. That place is old as dirt and we don't even have our old ruler anymore! What's the point in a castle if there's no one to sit in the throne like a fat cat?" she whined. Standing in the far corner of Merlin's house, Leon sighed and rubbed his temples. So far, progress had been going pretty steadily, but there were a few setbacks. The current conversation was one of them. While none of the Committee really had any intention of knocking down the castle, the fact that there was no ruler residing in said castle was worrying. Not to mention, the old relic itself was the least damaged of anything within the town, so their presence there felt more like snooping to Leon than anything else.

"The point," Cid snorted in response to Yuffie's question, "is that we're a _restoration_ committee, not a demolition crew. It doesn't matter that no one's in it, we're gonna fix that hunk'a stones and bricks along with ev'rything else in this town."

"This coming from the guy who broke a table throwing a fit," Yuffie rolled her eyes.

"Eh, Merlin fixed it back up…"

The grumbling Leon heard from across the room told him that Merlin was not very happy with the fact that he had to fix a table in the first place.

"And if anything," Cid continued loudly over the grumbling, "the only thing in this town that should be knocked down is that damn fortress!"

"No way, Jose! You saw that sea of heartless just like the rest of us! Even I'm not crazy enough to wade through that!"

"She has a point."

Everyone looked up as Aerith walked through the front door. Leon's eyes roved over her for a moment, checking for any additional injuries. She was all right for the most part, and her cure spells worked wonders, but still. The memory of claw marks, ripped skin, and tattered clothes was a haunting one. She seemed to have been doing better, her hair was pulled back up and she had on a brand new white and pink dress, but her response to Yuffie told Leon that she still wasn't quite over the attack.

"We may not like Villain's Vale where it is, but it's probably for the best that we avoid any unnecessary scuffles with anymore heartless…" Aerith smiled, although it was a tight one. Both Yuffie and Cid got the underlying message: Don't get caught in the same situation she did.

"Or those other things," Yuffie shivered.

Ah yes, those _other_ things. Leon had absolutely no idea what on earth they were supposed to be, but they were strong and dangerous, and frankly that was all he needed to know. They too seemed to be drawn to the darkness surrounding Villain's Vale, which worked in favor for the growing population in Hollow Bastion. Oddly enough, they even seemed aggressive towards the heartless at one point. As long as they stayed out of the city, however, Leon cared less what they did.

"Other things?"

Right…thanks to her previous injuries, she never saw them appear.

"We got some new visitors recently. Don't know what they are, but they're just as dangerous as the heartless. I'd steer clear of them if I were you," Leon finally spoke up. Judging by the quiet squeak heard from the other side of the room, Merlin had likely forgotten he was there in the first place. Not that surprising, considering Merlin had his nose in a book and was only barely paying his house guests any attention.

"What should I be watching out for?" Aerith asked, a worried look crossing her face.

"White husks, walk weirdly, have zippers for mouths… They're weird lookin' as ever, Aer, you couldn't miss 'em," Cid answered with a shake of his head. He and Leon had been the first ones to catch a glimpse of the strange new creatures that appeared in Hollow Bastion, using corridors of darkness and moving about in an odd, jerky manner. They had also been the first to be attacked by the things, and it wasn't an easy fight. They were smarter than the average heartless.

"Basically, another thing to add to our list of crap to deal with when we start expanding," Leon added.

"That won't be for a while, right?" Aerith asked as she walked over to a chair and settled herself in tiredly. It had been a long day for all of them. In fact, it had been a long several months for all of them.

"Maybe if we started knocking stuff down…"

"Not this again! You shut it!"

Leon held up his hand in a placating gesture before Cid and Yuffie could get into yet another shouting match. They were loud enough as it was, and Leon wasn't exactly keen on the idea of them making even more noise.

"Before we go about doing anything else to the city, we need an updated plan of the area. We still only have castle schematics and about half of the city covered. We're getting more people every day, so we need to make sure all of them can be housed and safe away from threats," he sighed.

"On top of keeping them out of the restoration sites. Which we still haven't gotten back to ourselves…" Cid continued. He was right. The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee had seen itself building more homes than actually restoring anything. The restoration site itself was still closed off because it was so unfinished. The only way to get to it was through the Bailey and even then, special access cards were needed. Leon found himself rubbing the bridge of his nose this time. He was really starting to feel a migraine coming on…

"If we had more help, we could get a lot more done a lot faster," Aerith contemplated as she rubbed her chin.

"We'd have that help if Chocobo Head would stop moping around and give it to us," Yuffie replied, sticking out her tongue.

Leon simply snorted at the nickname, hoping the warm feeling it brought to his chest didn't translate to his face. Said Chocobo Head wasn't exactly the best at expressing his emotions (not that Leon had much room to talk), and Leon understood that he wanted to keep the… _thing_ going on between them secret. Neither of them had much idea what it was anyway, and found it pointless to announce something they don't really understand just yet to their friends. He had been doing a pretty good job at keeping it under wraps for the most part, particularly due to his usual blank and unreadable expressions.

Gods knew how Aerith found out, despite all that.

Speaking of, Leon immediately noticed the knowing look she gave him from her seat. Thankfully, Yuffie was too caught up in her complaining and Cid in his expressing annoyance towards Yuffie's complaining for either of them to pay Aerith any mind. Merlin was still caught up in his book, too…

"Why don't you go find him?" Aerith asked. Leon raised an eyebrow at that. No need in looking too eager.

"He responds to you the best, after all."

"Probably because they both look like gargoyles half the time," Yuffie snorted.

"Oh, if you are looking for ole Chocobo Hair, tell 'im someone was looking for 'im," Cid said. So, he saw her too then. Leon thought back to the black haired woman that had appeared in Hollow Bastion only a few days ago, looking for Cloud. Of course, the fact that she showed up the very day he decided to wander off gave Leon the impression that the woman didn't have very good luck. Or maybe she was just bad at tracking. After all, Cloud was a difficult fellow to miss.

Nodding, Leon pushed himself from the wall and headed out into the Borough. It was quiet out for the particular time of day. There wasn't a large amount of noise coming from the Marketplace as there usually was, and most of the houses had empty yards as opposed to the children that typically ran about in them. He supposed the residents too had noticed the strange, white creatures and were likely trying to avoid venturing outside unless absolutely necessary. Leon was sure the moogles weren't particularly happy about this. Their business had boomed after the move from Traverse Town to Hollow Bastion, especially due to the fact that there were a lot more people to a home world than there were to a speck of a world meant to shelter those who lost their homes.

Leon shook his head as another headache threatened to return. This one was different; it appeared in all of his friends whenever they tried to recall their time spent in Traverse Town. It was as if they'd forgotten something extremely important, and thinking about it sent their heads reeling. Merlin had told them not to worry about it when the problem first made itself known, but Leon had written the reassurance off when he realized Merlin wasn't quite sure what it was they were supposed to not worry about in the first place. He didn't remember, either.

Leon's thoughts carried him up the stairs to the Bailey, and he was thankful there were no heartless around to catch him off guard. The occasional few might show up in the residential areas from time to time, and the stairs leading to the Bailey had the worst of it. He really shouldn't have gotten lost in his thoughts, knowing this. Yet, all thought seemed to disappear once he reached his destination. Standing in front of the window looking out over Villain's Vale was the very man he was looking for. This time, Leon didn't try to cover up the warm feeling.

"I see you're back."

"On top of things like always, huh Squall?"

"That's _Leon_."

Leon ignored the eye-roll his response earned as he walked over to stand next to Cloud. They both stared out at the black mass surrounding the old, decrepit castle that practically oozed evil. Leon had half a mind to go with Yuffie's mindset and knock the ugly thing down. Thankfully, he wasn't nearly as impulsive as the ninja girl.

"Someone's looking for you," Leon mentioned after a few minutes of silence. He didn't miss the way Cloud tensed up.

"Who?"

"Some lady…black hair, red eyes, supposedly brilliant martial arts skills if what she says can be believed… Can't remember her name," Leon described. After all, he only met her once and she happened to have bothered him while he was working. She was lucky he at least remembered her hair and eye color…at least he thought he did. He must have had it right, though, as Cloud's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Hnn…I'll have to go see what she wants at some point."

"I guess so. She had just missed you. By the time she made her way over to the restoration site, you had already wandered off to who knows where."

Cloud's cheeks twitched into something of a grin, but it didn't get very far and quickly fell from his face. Leon figured that'd probably be the most he'd get out of Cloud for the day. He wasn't much one for smiling.

"I was out at the crystal fissure. You know there's someone I'm still lookin' for too," he finally replied.

"Yeah, I know…"

Silence fell once again. It was a comfortable one, after all, neither men liked to talk very much and had an intimate understanding of how the other worked. They supposed that's why they worked so well together…there was never any need for long winded conversations and twenty-questions games. They figured each other out simply by being around one another. And both knew quite well that words weren't always needed to express their emotions.

"You ever getting back to helping out with the Committee?" Leon asked, once again breaking the silence. There was a long pause from Cloud before he answered.

"Maybe one of these days. I'm more curious as to what those are."

Cloud nodded his head towards the Pit surrounding Villain's Vale and Leon followed his gaze, his eyes narrowing when he targeted a few more of the white husks walking around. To his relief, they seemed to gravitate towards the hoard of heartless, rather than directing their attention to the city. Leon shook his head in response to Cloud's previous question after his silent glare session was over.

"You don't know?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not as all knowing as you and the others like to make me out to be…"

"You knew what the heartless were…"

"Not all of Ansem's research was lost. The King of Disney Castle and his guards knew as well…"

The headache was back at the mention of King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, but Leon ignored it.

"Speaking of heartless, have there been any more attacks in the town?" Cloud asked, his gaze having returned to the heartless after it had strayed to Leon momentarily.

"Hmm. I'm guessing you haven't heard about Aerith, then?"

The faint sound of leather straining met Leon's ears as Cloud's entire body tensed. He had surprisingly become great friends with Aerith after he was brought to Hollow Bastion, she being the first to reach out to him, and while his face showed little change in expression, it was clear he cared greatly about her. The beat of silence before his answer betrayed his feelings as well.

"Is she alright?" he finally asked. Leon sighed and ran his fingers through his mane of hair. Sticking out all over the place as usual, he noticed. He must have looked stressed too, then.

"You know she can take care of herself. She likes walking through the restoration site when work is done for the day sometimes, and she happened to get ambushed by some heartless. She's not stupid enough to walk around unarmed…the worst she's got is a few cuts."

"She's a healer, not a warrior."

"She could've had me fooled." Leon shuddered at the memory of the glare she had once directed towards an out of line citizen. He hoped to the Gods that he'd never be on the receiving end of that glare. Hah! Not a warrior? Those were the eyes of a great cat, prepared to pounce. Leon wondered, not for the first time, if he really deserved his title of Lionheart.

"She shouldn't have been out by herself. She isn't a very good fighter."

"You wanna say that to her face?"

Cloud's silence was a good enough answer. Leon swore he could make out a faint gulp as well.

"…Quit smirking at me."

Leon laughed in response. While he'd never admit it aloud, he found Cloud incredibly adorable. Most would look at the blonde warrior and find an emotionless mask, clad in black clothing (a far cry from that horrific red cape), and wielding a sword large enough to handle all of his problems for him. Most, however, never noticed the subtle things Leon did. Like the worried creasing between his eyebrows when his friends were in trouble, or the slight pout of his lips when he found himself being teased… And his eyes. They were the most expressive eyes Leon had ever seen. For someone who was used to keeping most of his own emotions in check, it was not hard for Leon to discern how others were feeling based off body-language and small movements. But for Cloud, he needed none of that. His eyes told an entire story.

It was the current look of irritation in them, however, that fueled Leon's amusement. Cloud was adorable indeed.

"Since when do you even laugh?"

Cloud's question ceased the chuckles coming from between Leon's lips. Not out of anger, but out of surprise. He never really thought about it, but…when had he started smiling more? When had he started laughing again? He thought back to his previous experiences: ones within the Committee, ones within Traverse Town, even ones from this current world before it had fallen to darkness. Nothing really came to mind.

Except, maybe… Now that he thought about it…

"You know…" Leon started, "I'm not too sure, but…when I think about it…there's a person that comes to mind. I don't remember who they are or how I knew them, but I remember they were very bright. Like a light shining in the darkness. And they smiled so optimistically… I figure it must've been contagious, because I _have_ been smiling more. I have reasons to smile now."

Cloud was silent as he listened to Leon speak. The light he spoke of, oddly enough, sounded mildly familiar. Yet another thought had pushed itself to the forefront of his mind before he could try to process what this light was.

"Do you think I could get you to smile like that?" he blurted out. Leon raised an eyebrow at that, noticing immediately the blush that stained Cloud's cheeks no matter how he tried to hide it.

"Wasn't that what you were just doing?"

"No, I don't mean those stupid smug looks you keep flashing. I mean a real smile."

Leon's other eyebrow joined the first at Cloud's words. Rarely was he ever this expressive. Sighing, Leon stretched out of his comfort zone (something he found himself doing more frequently lately) as he lifted an arm around Cloud's shoulders. Cloud stiffened slightly at the contact before leaning into it.

"Someone could see this, you know."

"No one from the city is crazy enough to chance a heartless encounter up here. And the committee is too busy arguing amongst themselves. Just let me do this."

Cloud didn't respond, but Leon knew that simply meant he felt no further issue. Leon also took that as his cue to answer Cloud's previous question.

"You've made me smile plenty of times, Cloud. You may not always see it, but regardless, I still do. I never really noticed until Aerith pointed it out to me. She had mentioned that I had never used to be so cheerful, and, I'm guessing, likely figured out what was going on between us when she tried to find out _what_ was making me smile. Cid mentioned just last week that he had never seen my expression change before until we started the restoration. Even Yuffie noticed, and you know how oblivious she can be."

Judging by his snort, Cloud did indeed know.

"I did take me a bit longer to figure out that you were causing a lot of these smiles, but I'll have you know…regardless of what expression is on my face, I'm happy with you."

Leon didn't even have to look down at the younger man to know that he was smiling too. The warm feeling in his chest increased tenfold, and he squeezed Cloud's shoulders in content.

"So," Leon continued, "Now that you've made me say all of that mushy stuff, I feel I should ask you… Do you feel the same?"

"Happy?"

"Yeah."

Cloud dragged out his silent contemplation, even though he immediately had an answer for Leon. But the small, dramatic side of him wanted his partner to wait for it. And that's exactly what Leon did.

"Don't you think if I wasn't, I wouldn't still be here?" Cloud finally huffed in amusement. Leon grunted in agreement before the sound was halted by the feel of Cloud's arm winding around his waist.

"What's this? You're rarely this touchy-feely? Especially in public."

"Squall, just shut up and enjoy the moment."

Leon decided not to correct the use of his first name just this once. Besides, he didn't so much mind it when Cloud said it.

"So," breaking the silence once more after yet another long pause, Leon started a new conversation, "When are you going to meet up with the black haired lady? What's her name again…Tiffany? Tilly?"

"Tifa."

"Right, her…"

The arm around Leon's waist tightened. Was that nervousness?

"I'll…deal with her later."

"…Are you scared of her or something?"

"No. …Maybe."

Leon chuckled again and simply held Cloud tighter.

"We only just got here a few months ago and already you have people looking for you."

"Ha ha…"

"Speaking of…are you going to start searching for your light again?"

Cloud turned his head so he could look Leon directly in the eyes. There was a small smile playing at his lips, but it was subtle and only barely noticeable. And then they moved and Leon found himself falling harder at Cloud's next words.

"Nah. I think I found it already."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Wow that was surprisingly easy to write for a pairing I had never written for before. So anyway…that's my pointless Cleon fluffy one-shot. Hopefully I didn't mess up the characters too badly or anything. Review my duckies! Or not, it's up to you.


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